


The Untimely Death of David Jacobs

by shattered_seas



Series: And This Case Will Remain (Newsies Buzzfeed Unsolved AU) [1]
Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series), Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Homophobia, I guess???, M/M, Mention of Death, Modern Era, Swearing, Take your pick if it is i just didn't want to change their names, buzzfeed unsolved au, davey is ryan, its just implied that the modern au versions are dating, jack and davey were dating when he died, jack is shane, no beta we die like davey, no one dies in the fic but they're discussing a murder, sorry - Freeform, theres like 20 other characters mentioned but only davey and jack appear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 08:01:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29963355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shattered_seas/pseuds/shattered_seas
Summary: Y'all this took 3 months to make is a buzzfeed unsolved au please read it even if you haven't seen the show. read the tags though cause there's tw's.
Relationships: David Jacobs & Jack Kelly, David Jacobs/Jack Kelly
Series: And This Case Will Remain (Newsies Buzzfeed Unsolved AU) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2158548
Comments: 8
Kudos: 27





	The Untimely Death of David Jacobs

**Author's Note:**

> Note: the word q*eer is used multiple times, and homophobia is mentioned. There's also mention of death. Also they swear a lot.
> 
> Another Note: Jack is the yellow text, Davey is blue. Davey is the one reading the text in white as well.

Buzzfeed Unsolved

[The Untimely Death of David Jacobs]

  
Hello and welcome back to another episode of Buzzfeed Unsolved. I'm Davey  
Jack  
And today we will be discussing the untimely death of one of America's most celebrated authors: David Jacobs  
Not to be confused with Davey Jacobs, the other host of this show  
I mean, that's kind of implied  
No, there would definitely be someone that would assume you were alive then  
Like a-  
No, not like a ghost  
So without further ado: the murder of David Jacobs. Damn, that is weird to say  


  


  


  


  
  


  


  


David Jacobs was born in 1882 to Esther and Mayer Jacobs.  
He had a twin sister, Sarah, and a younger brother Lester.

  
If you're just fucking with me on that, I'm gonna flip my shit  
I swear, that's what all the sources said  
Still creepy  


  


As a child, David was described by teachers as quiet and polite.  
Janice Foster, a former teacher did an interview a couple days after he was killed, saying this about her former pupil:

**QUOTE**

"David was a star student in my class, he was always very  
focused on his studies. I haven't heard from him since he dropped  
out until a few days ago, when I heard the news. Who  
would do this to him, I have no clue."

  
Wait, he dropped out?  
Yeah, I was surprised to see that too. He talked enough about friendships between kids enough that it sounded like he had been.  
Well, he had been, right? He just ended up dropping out.  


  
  


  
  


When he was seventeen in 1899, David's father, Mayer lost  
his job at a factory due to an injury. Due to this, David and his  
brother Lester, known as Les, started working as newsboys for the  
newspaper "The World."

  
What about the sister?  
There wasn't much about her, but from what I can tell, is that she had already been working in a factory as well  
Okay, that makes sense. It sucks, but it makes sense for that time  
Yeah, it definitely sucks, but for them it was normal. I'm pretty sure kids weren't required to go to school full time until the 1930's  


  


  
  


  
  


  


David, along with a fellow newsboy named Jack Kelly organized a union later that year, after the prices of newspapers were raised, and striked against The World.

  
Okay, ignoring the name thing cause that's just weird and I don't  
know how to respond to that, imagine being David Jacobs. Your dad  
gets fired from a job, you and your brother have to start working,  
and immediately after you start working, they give you less money.  
So instead of just agreeing to it, you and your new friend organize  
a fucking union and strike? Weren't they all a bunch  
of kids?  
*wheeze* yeah, they were. It was a successful strike though, they got about half of their demands met  
Only half? That sucks  


  
  


  
  
  


  


  
  


  
  
  


David and Jack were mentioned in multiple newspapers during the strike, which  
we can't show here due to copyright. However the strike ended with  
half of their demands met, and the youth prison warden in jail.

  
There was a youth prison warden? Why'd he get arrested?  
Something about mistreatment, some papers tried to cover it up. Apparently one of the leaders, Jack Kelly's drawings of the prison were shown to the governor and it was shut down  
Okay, something about this is actually pretty unsettling  
The fact that you have the same name? The fact that you both draw? The fact that you both know people named David Jacobs?  
Yeah, something like that. And Sarah and Les too  
This case is.....really weird, just in general  
You got that right  


  


  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  


  


After the strike, David continued to work as a newsboy, and never  
went back to school. In 1900, he published his first book: The  
Truth About The Moon.

Wait, that was him? I love that book  
Yeah, cause it mentions Santa fucking Fe about every other line as a metaphor  
Nah, it's just a really good book. Always wondered why he kept mentioning Santa Fe, even though it's a great city, I've been there  
I've heard  
Great art college, great city, great site seeing, great people, great- yeah, I'll shut up now  


  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  


In 1902, he published The Streets Of Manhattan, and in 1903, he  
published an unnamed book written entirely in Polish, his first language.

  
I've read it, it's pretty good. Ahead of his time though, I think he would have done better living today.  
Oh?  
It'll explain later  


  
  


On August 23, 1904, David Jacobs was found dead in his apartment  
with three stab wounds.

  
Three?  
People say he probably fought back  
Well, duh. If I got stabbed I'd probably try to fight back too  
Now that we have the main facts of the case-  
We have his backstory and injuries  
Now that we have the main facts of the case, lets get into the theories  


  
  


  
  


**THEORY #1**

  


The first theory is that David was murdered by his roommate at  
the time, Francis Sullivan. David and Francis had been roommates since 1900,  
after David left the newsboy union and moved out of the apartment  
he had shared with his parents. Francis hadn't been seen the week  
surrounding the murder, only finding out about it after he had returned  
from a trip, though it was never specified where. There isn't a  
known motive for this, so it doesn't make much sense. However, some  
conspiracy theorists point to letters David had in his possession when he  
died addressed to "Francis" or "Jack" and say that the two could  
have possibly been lovers.

  


  
Who the hell goes by two names?  
We'll get to that in a second, but there are theories  
Yeah, and I bet one of them is that he was cheating on Francis with this "Jack"  
...  
Wait, fuck  
Anything you'd like to share with the class?  
Is the identity of the Jack he's writing to confirmed?  
Oh, I get what you mean. That actually has to do with this theory  


  


  
  
  


  
  


One version of this theory is that the Jack and Francis David  
was writing to were **two different people.**

  
Were both letters like, romantic? Or was he just writing to his bro and also his boyfriend?  
They were both romantic, and some letters to Jack seemed like they picked up where letters to Francis left off  
Okay, so they're the same person  


  
  
  
  


  


This version of the theory is that David's roommate Francis saw a  
letter David had written to Jack and killed him. He then left  
to kill the "Jack" that David had been writing to, only returning  
when he thought it had been a safe amount of time,  
to fake discover the crime.

  


  
The boyfriend discovered the body?  
No, Sarah did  
Oh, that makes sense. Cause the way it was worded made it seem like Francis had, which would honestly make him even more suspicious  


  
  
  


During the original investigation, Francis was seen as a main suspect, and he moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico as soon as the case was declared closed.

  


  
Nice, he's got taste  
Doesn't that seem a little...odd to you? I mean, as soon as the case is close he just goes "fuck it" and runs off to New Mexico  
I mean, not really. David Jacobs wrote a book about Santa Fe, right? Now we know it was about his boyfriend. Or Francis just wanted to move to a place that was important to his dead ex. You can't tell me that after your boyfriend dies you're gonna go full Sherlock Holmes mode, it's depressing shit  
So if I died you'd just move back to Santa Fe?  
...  
Yeah, probably  


  


  


  
  
  
  
  


  


  


However, many people don't agree with this theory, as the **entire Jacobs family** denied this for the rest of their lives.

  
Okay, so it wasn't the roommate  
You're going to dismiss it just like that?  
Listen, I've never met the guy. But if the _victim's entire family_ denies his involvement until the day they die, I'm going to assume it wasn't him  
He could've threatened them though  
He lived in Santa Fe. That's a hell of a long way away from New York, especially then  


  
  
  
  
  


  
  


Another version of this theory is that Francis and Jack are the  
same person. Furthermore, Francis Sullivan was actually Jack Kelly: the other leader  
of the newsboy strike.

  


  
Are they still fucking in this version?  
*sigh*  
Yeah, they are  


  


  


Evidence that points to this is that David and Jack left the  
newsboy union on the **exact same day** : The day that Francis  
and David bought an apartment together. After going through old records police  
couldn't find any record of a Jack Kelly at the house of  
refuge, which served as a youth prison, although he would have needed  
to be there to draw the pictures of it. They did find,  
however, a Francis Sullivan listed in the records for multiple arrests. Including  
but not limited to:  
Inciting a riot and robbery.

  


  
Yeah, you've convinced me. It's the same person. Don't know how that mean he killed him though  
Yeah, I don't really get how it connects either, but it's become a really popular theory. It's pretty much accepted at this point that Jack and Francis were the same person  


  
  
  
  
  


  


Applying this to the theory, some people claim that Francis-Jack had  
feared getting discovered, and killed his lover to hide it.

  
_Francis-Jack?_  
What am I supposed to call him then?  
Maybe Francis? That was probably his legal name anyway, Jack just sounds like an alias to get away from the cops  


  
  
  
  


**THEORY #2**

  
Wait, that's it? That's the whole theory? He just... _might_ have stabbed him?  
*wheeze* Yeah, that's it. Not a lot to go on  
Not a lot? There's literally none. There's no way that Francis Sullivan killed him  


  
  


  


The second theory is that David Jacobs was killed for his involvement  
in the newsboy strike. Although the major companies had seemed to get  
over it by the time of his death, Warren Snyder, the warden  
of the prison that had been shut down was released from jail  
**three days prior to when the body was discovered.**

  
Wouldn't he just go after Francis Sullivan then? I mean that's the guy that got the jail shut down  
I mean...he was out of town though supposedly  
And he can't wait? He's waited for a couple years, he can wait for a few more days  


  
  
  


  


When presented with the fact that Jacobs was not the one responsible  
for shutting down the prison, internet sleuths site the widely popular theory  
that Francis and David were romantically involved, claiming that Snyder had killed  
David to get to Francis.

  
Can't suffer when you're dead  
Really?  
I mean, I'm not wrong. Dying sucks but killing someone closer to you would probably make you feel like shit, especially if you think it's your fault  


  
  


  


**THEORY #3**

  


The third theory is that David Jacobs was killed because of a  
book he wrote. In 1903, Jacobs had published an untitled book entirely  
in Polish, and requested it not be translated. Now, I had already  
read this a couple years ago, but I re-read it before the  
case.

  


  
What's it about then?  
Remember when I said he was ahead of his time?  
Yeah  
This is what I meant. And he might have gotten killed for it  


  
  


In his book, David highly criticized many of society's laws, mainly the  
ones against the LGBTQ+ community. In his book, he mentioned that he  
had a male lover and insulted government leaders and continued on to  
disprove many arguments against the LGBTQ+ community. He got many death threats  
for this book, and in the months leading up to his death  
he was rarely seen alone.

  
Damn  
Yeah, and he was usually with different people each time  
Cause if he was with one person they would've thought it was his boyfriend?  
Yeah, it had gotten bad, which is why this is the leading theory  


  
  
  


  


A couple of years after his death, one of David and Francis' close friends, Sean Conlon

  
No. Okay, this is just fucking weird at this point  
Yeah, this is a really strange case  
Strange case? Dave, the next video should be about the weird Buzzfeed and random ass newsboys from 1899 have the same names coincidence!  


  
  
  
  


A couple of years before he died, one of David and Francis'  
close friends, Sean Conlon did an interview where he said the following:

 **QUOTE**

"Yeah, Davey was real worried about the fact that if one person  
was seen with him enough they'd think we was queer. Course, most  
of us were, just not for him. That was Cowboy."

  
Hm. Anyway. Welcome to the new unsolved mystery: what the fuck is up with this?  


  
  


Later that interview, Sean had confirmed that the "Cowboy" he talked about  
was, in fact, another former newsboy. This has only added to the  
evidence for the theory that Francis Sullivan and David Jacobs were lovers.

  
Yeah, I think we got that, Davey. So pretty much, just to recap: Jack Kelly, leader of the newsboy strike and Francis Sullivan, David Jacobs' roommate were the same person, and they were also dating  
Yeah, that's basically the facts of the case. It hasn't been added to the actual case file though, the government's pretty adamant that the case is closed  
So even if someone figured out exactly who killed him, no room for argument, the cops would go "uhhhh sorry y'all, not enough evidence, case closed"  
Pretty much  


  


  


  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  


However, cops are heavily against this theory claiming that a) David Jacobs  
was not part of the LGBTQ+ community and did not publish that  
book and b) If he was the author, he would have faced  
no discrimination for it.

  
Fuck, and I say this in the most disrespectful way possible, the police  
Yeah. And the cop that said that was never credited, so some people say that the whole police office just got pissed off and decided to pretend they'd never read a history textbook  
There is conclusive evidence he did write the book, right?  
Yeah. His name's on the book, he told people he wrote the book, relatives and friends all say that he wrote the book, the cops are just pretty much being assholes about it  


  


  
  
  
  


  
  
  


  
  


**THEORY #4**

For our fourth and final theory, the police say it was probably  
a serial killer. And this is the theory they stand by.

  
Seriously? There's way too many motives for it to be a fucking serial killer  
That's the entire theory too, by the way. They never specify who they think it could be  
That- that's fucking bullshit! No one got any closure, no wonder his boyfriend packed up and ran west!  
Along with the fact people were sending him death threats for thinking he killed someone, yeah  
And he was the main suspect?  
Aside from a random serial killer, yeah. But all of David's friends and family were still adamant that it was not him  
Huh  
So who do you think it was?  
Definitely some homophobic bastard that read the book and got pissed off that gay people exist. The prison theory seems valid too, but there isn't as much evidence  
Yeah, I agree. Definitely wasn't a serial killer though  
Yeah, no way  


  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  


  


And while the official theory makes no sense, this case will remain  
officially

 **UNSOLVED**

  
Make sure to leave comments for the post-mortem, and we'll try to answer them  
As well as try to figure out why the _fuck_ ninety-percent of the people in this case we know people with the same names  


  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I listened to the same song whenever I wrote this and I'm somehow still not sick of it. Also I might end up doing a post-mortem for this, so if you want them to answer a question, just comment it!
> 
> I got the base code for the css from this fic: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24970363


End file.
